The Blues made the most of home court advantage and their man-to-man defence strategy to stop NGV point guard Yadunanadan (4) from moving freely into the zone. Power forward Subhash barged through an already clumsy NGV defence to give Blues a 16-7 lead at half-time.
Playing with a 9-point advantage, Blues looked a completely different side after the break.
They brought in three shooting guards to make the most of the momentum while Subhash (13) stood tall under the board, scoring at will off some very good passes from point guard Akshay (6), to post a comfortable win in their opening encounter.
In the girls’ category, Rajmahal registered a 42-11 win over VNS.
Results: Boys: VNS: 53 (Nikelesh 19, Gagan 8, Rishab 9) bt IBBC: 35 (Karan 16, Uthang 9) HT: 11-21; PPC: 26 (Chetan 11, Niketh 11) bt YMMA: 16 (Nisarag 4, Srinivas 4). HT:10-8; Southern Blues: 32 (Subhash 13, Akshay 6) bt NGV Sports Club: 10 (Yadunandan 4). HT: 16-7; Nationals, Mysore: 47 (Jitendar 25, Niriksiht 12) bt Devanga Sports Union: 38 (Vinay 17). HT: 23-19; Merchants, Davangere: 27 (Sachin 14) bt BCBC: 20 (Bhigath 9). HT: 13-9.
Girls: Rajmahal: 42 (Anagha 12) bt VNS:11. HT: 22-6.
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